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^{Serving Rhinebeck and Neighboring Towns}

Issue 56 | May 10, 2023

Village Compost Site Plan is Withdrawn

Last night at the Village Board meeting, Village Trustee Vanessa Bertozzi withdrew the Village of Rhinebeck plan to build an aerated static pile (ASP) compost facility on the property of the Village Highway Department off of Violet Hill Road. The decision, which was read into record at the start of the meeting by Bertozzi, stated "I don't see a path forward given how the project has been undermined and misinformation spread."

This decision follows weeks of ever increasing pressure and criticism coming primarily from neighbors adjacent to the proposed site and was capped by a Town Board meeting on Monday night when Supervisor Elizabeth Spinzia expressed her opposition to the project as it stands, and made a motion to withdraw the Town Board's previous support of the project.

The Pilot will be reporting on this story in depth in our newsletter on Friday, May 12th. Until then, we encourage you to read our most recent reporting on this issue below.

Eric Steinman

Executive Editor

Compost Turnover: Pushback Against Village Compost Facility

On Monday, May 1st, at the usually rather staid Rhinebeck Town Planning Board meeting, there was tension in the crowd of about 60 people. During the public comment portion of the meeting, Burger Road resident Kirsten Greene approached the microphone with a piece of paper, which she said had on it the names and addresses of many of her neighbors. “These are the addresses that matter, the only addresses that matter in this conversation!” she asserted, while holding the paper above her head.

Those names represented people who live near the proposed site of the Village Municipal Compost Facility, off Violet Hill Road in the Town of Rhinebeck, a project which has gained many enthusiastic fans, but also a group of vocal detractors.

Link to story

Rhinebeck Town Board Votes Against Compost Facility; Delays Skate Park

At last night’s Town Board meeting, Town Supervisor Elizabeth Spinzia said the board was on the side of the compost facility’s opponents. “The Town Board would be an interested party on your behalf to advocate for [the facility] not being built [at the proposed location on Violet Hill Road],” she said.

Link to story